ART Studies: Review of the health of adults conceived with and without Assisted Reproductive Technologies

ART Studies: Review of the health of adults conceived with and without Assisted Reproductive Technologies

It is generally believed that common adult onset disorders (particularly cardiovascular and respiratory diseases) begin in early life, possibly even before birth. Children born following the use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) might be in a specific risk category because of the techniques used to enable successful ART/pregnancies. However, there are very few studies on adults born following ART.

The 2009-2011 retrospective cohort study, “Comparison of health and development of young adults born with and without assisted conception”, is the largest in-depth study anywhere in the world of people aged 18 years and over who were conceived with ART. The aim of the study was to compare the physical and mental health, educational achievements, and social development of young adults conceived with and without ART. Telephone interviews were conducted with 1524 mothers (reporting on 1573 offspring), and 1096 young adults.

The young adults that participated in the 2009 – 2011 telephone interviews have been invited to take part in the 2016-2017 CHART (Clinical review of the Health of 22-35 year olds conceived with and without Assisted Reproductive Technologies) Study. CHART is a clinical review investigating the respiratory, cardiac and metabolic health, and general wellbeing of the participants. Recruitment began in June 2016.

This project only (Specific consent)
Future research related to this project (Extended consent)
Optional consent included:
– Consent to be contacted about future research projects
– Consent to the sharing of coded data and/or samples with researchers in Australia and/or overseas
– Consent to the storage of blood/DNA samples for use in ethically approved research, related to this project or future projects on the health of young adults conceived via ART